Engine-starter.



A. H. KLAHN.

ENGINE STARTER. APPLICATION FILED 1uL'Y23. 1913.

1,143,406, Patented June 15, 1915.

2 SHEETS-SHEET FLI 9 M ATTORNEYS THE NORRIS PETERS CO F'HOTG-LITHQ, WASHINGTON, D. C.

A. H. KLAHN.

, 1913. 1,143,406. Patented June 15, 1915.

2 SHEETSSHEET 2.

ARTHUR H. KLAHN, OF SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA.

ENGINE-STARTER.

' Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 15, 1915.

Application filed July 23, 1913. Serial No. 780,671.

To all whom it may concern r V Be it known that I, ARTHUR H. KLAHN, a citizenof 'the United States, and a resident of San Francisco, in the county of San Francisco and State of California, have invented a new and Improved Engine-Starter,

of which the following is a full, clear, and

exact description.

'This invention relates to a starting mechanism of the spring type for internal combustion engines for initially imparting motion to the piston or pistons to brlng about the first explosion in the starting of the engine.

The invention has for one of its objects to improve and simplify the construction and operation of starting mechanisms of this character so as to be comparatively simple and'inexpensive to manufacture, reliable andeflicient in use and readily controlled. 1

Another object of the invention is the provision of simple and effective means for winding the spring by power derived from the engine itself.

A further object is the employment of a brake device which is released or inoperative during the windingof the spring and which automatically locks to hold the spring under tension until the mechanism is to be again used for starting the engine.

.-Another object of the invention consists in the employment of a spring-actuated hub or annular member that is adapted to be connected with the engine shaft by a clutch when the spring is released to start the engine, the clutch being automatically opened when the engine shaft speeds up by the power derived from explosions.

lVith these objects in view, and others as will appear as the description proceeds, the invention comprises various novel features of construction and arrangement of parts which will be more fully described hereinafter and set forth with particularity in the claims appended hereto.

In the accompanying drawings, which illustrate one embodiment of the invention, and wherein similar reference characters are employed to designate corresponding parts throughout the several views, Figure 1 is a front view of the engine starter with the spring unwound and the parts in position for beginning the winding of the spring; Fig. 2. is a vertical section on the line 22 of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a front View of the device, showing the spring fully wound; Fig. 4 is a plan view of the device; and F ig. 5 is an enlarged sectional view of the clutch between the spring-actuated hub or ring and the engine shaft.

Referring to the drawing, 1 designates a fiXedpart of the engine, such as the wall of the crank case, and extending therefrom is the crank shaft 2, to which the starting mechanism is applied.

The starting mechanism comprises a ring or hub 3 which is normally stationary during the rotation of the shaft 2, there being bearing balls 4 between these relatively rotatable parts. A stiff spiral spring 5 has its inner end anchored at 6 011 the hub or ring 3, and the outer end of the spring is anchored by a stud 7 on the body of the en gme.

The spring 5 is Wound by power derived from the engine shaft, and for this purpose a friction cone 8 is carried by the shaft 2, and adjacent the cone 8 is an oppositely disposed cone 9 formed on the ring or element 8.

Cooperating with the cones 8 and 9 is an idler cone 10, which when engaged with the cones 8 and 9 transmits power from the former to the latter. This idler cone 10 is mounted on a pivoted post or equivalent bearing ll which is carried by a lever 12 fulcrumed on the stud 7, and this lever is held in a position to maintain the frictional engagement between the parts 8, 9 and 10 by toggle links 13 and 1e united by a knuckle joint 15, the upper link 13 being longitudinally connected with a stud or equivalent means 16 and the lower link being pivotallyconnected at 17 with the lever 12. lVhen the toggle links are locked or in a position to maintain the frictional engagement of the cone 10 with the cones 8 and 9, the knuckle joint 15 is disposed to one side ofa line passing through the centers 16 and 17, that is to say, to the right of such line in Fig. 1, and when the joint is broken by throwing the knuckle 15 to the left of the line passing through the points 16 and 17, the spring 18 comes into play and raises the lever 12 so as to disengage the cone 10 from the cones 8 and 9, theparts beingthen in the position shown in Fig. 3. The spring 18 is connected at one end with the stud 16 and atthe opposite end withthe extremity of the lever 12, tending constantly to raise the latter.

To restore the toggle links 13 and 14 from collapsed position, as shown in Fig. 3, any suitable means operative from the drivers seat may be employed, such, for instance, as a cable 0, which is connected with the joint between the links 13 and 14- and extends therefrom to the dashboard of the automobile. By pulling on this cable in a direction indicated by the arrow, Fig. 3, the toggle links will be brought to the position shown in Fig. l.

The rotatable element 3 is adapted to impart rotation to the crank shaft 2 through a clutch device shown in Fig. 5. The element 3 is provided with a plurality of pockets 19 that open toward the shaft 2, and each pocket has a wall 20 which is eccentric to the axis of rotation, so that each pocket is slightly narrower at one end than at the other. Consequently, when the element 3 rotates in a clockwise direction, Fig. 5, one or more of the balls, such as a and Z), will wedge in the narrow portions of the respective pockets and clutch the element 3 to the shaft 2, causing rotation of the latter with the spring-actuated element 3. When the engine shaft speeds up the balls 21 will be automatically released and allow the shaft 2 to freely turn while the element 3 remains stationary when the spring is fully unwound.

When the spring 5 is under tension or the device set, the rotating element 3 is held against movement by some suitable means, such, for, instance, as a brake band 25, which encircles the cylindrical portion 26 or brakedrum-forming part of the ring or rotatable element 3. The ends of the shoe or brake band 25 are connected at 27 and 28, respectively, to an arm 29 fulcrumed on the stud 16, the point 28 being at a shorter radial distance than the point 27 from the center on which the arm 29 swings. The arm 29 is a part of a bell-crank lever, the other arm 30 of which extends over the lever V 12, and interposed between the latter and arm 30 is a helical compression spring 31, which tends to throw the depending arm 29 in an anti-clockwise direction, so that the brake band willbe frictionally held in engagement with the drum 26. While both points 27 and 28 move in the same direction the point 27 has a greater range of movement than the point 28, so that consequently the brake band will be tightened when the arm 29 swings to the right from the position shown in Fig. 1 to that shown in Fig. 3, and as a result the rotatable element 3 will be held against movement when the spring 5 is fully wound. The spring 31 is not relied on solely to hold the brake band 25 set, but rather the frictional engagement between the band and brake drum, and the tendency of the brake drum to rotate 1n a clockwise direction will cause-the two parts to tightly engage each other and prevent slipping. When it is desired to release the drum from the brake band so that the spring can start the engine, the arm 30 of the bellcrank lever is depressed when the parts are in the position shown in Fig. 3, so as to cause the arm 29 to loosen the brake band, whereupon the spring expands and turns the element 3, which, through the clutch balls 21, will turn the crank shaft.

During the rewinding of the spring by the engine shaft 2, itis preferable to provide means for breaking the driving con.- nection between the engine shaft and the element 3 connected with the spring 5. For this purpose the outer convolution of the spring 5 carries a finger or member 32 which is adapted to strike the upper one of the links 13 and 14: and cause the links to move towardand beyond a neutral position, thereby collapsing the toggle links so that the parts will automatically assume the position shown in Fig. 3. At the same time the arm 29 swingsto the right through the action of the upwardly-moving lever 12 and the spring 31, and in so doing the brake band 25 is tightened so as to firmly hold the element 3 from turning.

In the case of large engines where a heavy spring is employed it may be desirable to employ a plurality of idlers in the friction transmission between the engine shaft and element to which the spring is connected. Thus in Fi s'l and 3 an additional idler 10 is mounted on a lever'l2 to engage the cones 8 and 9 simultaneously as the idler 10 engages such cones, this simultaneous engagement being elfective by means of a link 12 connecting the levers 12 and 12 together. The lever 12 is fulcrumed at the point 12 so that when the lever 12 moves upwardly the end of the lever 12* that carries the idler 1O will be moved downwardly, and obviously when the lever '12 moves inwardly or downwardly the lever 12 will move upwardly, whereby the idlers 10 and 10 will engage the cones 8 and 9.

From the foregoing description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, the advantages of the method of operation and of the device shown-will be readily understood by those skilled in the art to which the invention appertains, and while I have described the device which I now consider to be the best embodiment thereof, I desire to have it understood that the device shown is merely illustrative, and that such changes may be made when desired as are within the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

1. In an engine starter, the combination of an engine shaft, an element adapted to be clutched to the shaft for turning the same, a spring for actuating the element, a driving connection between the'shaft and element for winding the spring, a movable member carrying said connection, a spring tending to move the member for disengaging said driving connection from the shaft and element, a toggle device for holding the member against movement by the last-mentioned spring, and means carried by and movable with the first mentioned spring for breaking the connection by collapsing the toggle device when the spring is fully wound.

2. In an engine starter, the combination of an engine shaft, an element for turning the same, a starting spring for actuating the element, means for connecting the element with the shaft for actuating the element to tension the spring, a member for moving the said means into and out of cooperative relation to the shaft and element, a brake for holding the element fast when the spring is tensioned and released while the element is tensioning the spring, an actuator for the brake, and a spring through which the said a member operates to move the actuator for setting the brake when the starting spring is tensioned and the said means is moved out of cooperativerelation to the shaft and element.

3. In an engine starter, the combination of an engine shaft, an element for turning the same, a starting spring for actuating the element, means for connecting the element with the shaft for actuating the element to tension the spring, a member for moving the said means into and out of cooperative relation to the shaft and element,.a brake for holding the element fast when the spring is tensioned and released while the element is tensioning the spring, a lever connected with the brake for setting and releasing the same, and a brake-setting spring interposed between the lever and said member and adapted to be placed under a brake-setting tension by the movement of the latter in disconnecting the said means from the shaft and element when the starting spring is tensioned.

4. In an engine starter, the combination of an engine shaft, a rotatable element thereon, a clutch for connecting the element to the shaft, a friction cone on the element, a friction cone on the shaft, an idler cone for engaging both cones simultaneously, a toggle device for maintaining the idler cone in driving relation to the other cones, and means carried by and movable with the (Iopies of this patent may be obtained for spring to collapse the toggle device when the spring is fully wound.

5. In an enginestarter, the combination of an engine shaft, an element for turning the shaft, a spring for actuating the element, means for connecting the shaft with the element for winding the spring, a member carrying said means, a toggle device operating through the member to hold the means in driving position, means for collapsing the toggle device when the spring is fully wound, a brake band for holding the element against movement when the spring is fully Wound, a device connected with the brake band for operating the same, and a spring interposed between the device and member, whereby the member sets the brake when the spring is fully wound.

6. In an engine starter, the combination of an engine shaft, a rotatable element thereon, a clutch for connecting the element to the shaft, a friction cone on the element, a friction cone on the shaft, a plurality of idler cones for engaging both cones simultaneously, carriers for the idler cones, means connecting the carriers together, and a single toggle device connected with one of the carriers for maintaining both idler cones in driving relation to the other cones, and

means for collapsing the toggle device when the spring is fully wound.

7 In an engine starter, the combination of an engine shaft, a rotatable element thereon, a clutch for connecting the element to the shaft, a friction cone on the element, a friction cone on the shaft, a plurality of idler cones for engaging both cones simultaneously, a toggledevice for maintaining the idler cones in driving relation to the other cones, and means for collapsing the toggle device when the spring is fully wound.

8. In an engine starter, the combination of an engine shaft, a rotatable element thereon, a clutch for connecting the element to the shaft, a friction cone on the element, a friction cone on the shaft, a plurality of idler cones for engaging both cones simultaneously, a toggle device for maintaining the idler cones in driving relation to the other cones, and means carried by the spring to collapse the toggle device when the spring is fully wound.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

ARTHUR H. KLAHN. Witnesses:

JAKE R. ErrLER,

WALTER H. KLAHN.

five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents. Washington, D. G. 

